YOUR HOME

Patrol Division

You can deter residential burglary by making entry more difficult. Housebreakers can, and will, move in if they are certain you’ve left. Burglars spend their daylight hours canvassing neighborhoods, looking for uncut lawns and overstuffed mailboxes. They spend their spare evenings looking for darkened houses or lights that have been left on too long. You can help make your home more secure by following these simple rules:

When you go out of town, tell a reliable neighbor and give him/her a key to your home and information as to where you can be reached. Contact the Police Department and inform them how long you will be gone, who has a key to your house, and where you can be reached. Special attention will be given to the premises while you are away.

Suspend deliveries of mail, newspaper, milk etc. or arrange to have someone collect them for you. Have the telephone disconnected. Burglars may try calling to find out whether anyone is in.

Automatic timers that turn lights on and off intermittently, give your home a lived-in appearance. Burn a light at night. The best source of interior lighting is a living room light, whether you are home or not. Again, use a timer or photoelectric cell to automatically turn the light on at dusk. The illumination coming from this source is sufficient to silhouette an intruder through many windows in your home. It is also confusing to the burglary as to whether you are away, at home, or asleep on the sofa.

Be certain that all doors and windows are locked. Lock all doors and windows before you leave. The majority of burglaries are committed by persons for narcotics, so even if you are not concerned about your valuables – why support their habit?

Install pin tumbler locks with dead bolts.

Change locks if keys have been lost or stolen. Don’t hide a key outside. Most hiding places are obvious to the burglar.

When moving into a new house, have all the locks changed.

Doors should have frames and hinges that cannot be pried off, these should be checked periodically to determine that they are secure. TIP-HINGE PROTECTION: To protect your door from being lifted from its hinges by pulling the hinge pin, follow these simple steps, Remove two screws, opposite each other, from both leafs of your hinge. Insert screw or concrete nail into jamb-leaf protruding ½” Drill out the opposing screw hole in door. Do this in the top and bottom hinge of the door. When closed, the pins may be removed, but the door will remain firmly in place.

Secure small valuables in a secure closet. Secondary Barrier: If the value of small personal items warrants protection, a secondary barrier is an additional safeguard. On a hinging closet door, install a 1” deadbolt lock. Store your jewels, furs, camera, guns, silverware, and other valuables behind this barrier. Be sure to pin the hinges.

Keep a record of the serial numbers and description of your household possessions, and inscribe your driver’s license number on them for identification. The police department will do this free of charge. Put identification (your driver’s license number is best) on all valuables. This reduces chance of theft when spotted by the burglar, it increases chances of recovery if you are victim· TIP – Consider video taping your valuables as well as their serial numbers. If you have a digital camera, consider taking digital images of your items and their serial numbers. Store this information on a disk away from your computer.

Don’t let salesmen or deliverymen in when alone.

All salesmen should be reported so that an officer can verify that they possess a license to sell products door to door.

Train your children not to open the door to strangers.

Never answer the door in night clothes or when not fully clothed.

Keep doors locked when women are alone at home. A wide angle viewer in the door lets you know your visitor.